Why Pope Leo Chose Sagrada Família

Why Pope Leo Chose Sagrada Família

Father Tony Lusvardi is a Jesuit priest, sacramental theologian, and professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. His work focuses on liturgy, the sacraments, Christian salvation, as well as the relationship between faith, culture and the modern world. He has served in Native American ministry, taught theology internationally and written extensively on Catholic sacramental theology. In this conversation with Catholic News Service, he discusses Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família and why it remains one of the most powerful expressions of Christian faith in the modern era. He explores how the basilica communicates the Christian story through architecture, nature, light, and symbolism, and why its vision of beauty continues to attract millions of visitors from around the world. Father Lusvardi also reflects on Gaudí’s response to secularization, industrialization, and anti-Catholicism, his conviction that technology should serve human flourishing, and the surprising relevance of his work in the age of artificial intelligence. The discussion examines Gaudí’s life, spirituality, possible sainthood, and the enduring message of hope embodied in the century-long construction of the Sagrada Família. Guest bio: Father Tony Lusvardi, SJ, studied English and philosophy at the University of Notre Dame before serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan. He entered the Society of Jesus in 2006 and was ordained a priest in 2017. After earning a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Atheneum of Saint Anselm in Rome, he published Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation in 2024. He currently teaches sacramental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and continues pastoral ministry in South Dakota.

One Visit to a Jamaican Orphanage Changed Everything

Michele Sagarino is President of Cross Catholic Outreach, one of the largest Catholic relief and development organizations in the United States. For more than two decades, she has traveled extensively through some of the world’s poorest communities, working alongside bishops, priests, religious sisters, and local Catholic leaders to address poverty through faith-based development, disaster relief, education, housing, clean water initiatives, and spiritual formation. In this conversation, she reflects on the experiences that shaped her understanding of charity, beginning with a transformative mission trip to Jamaica that exposed the gap between money given in the name of helping the poor and the reality faced by vulnerable communities. She explains why some charitable efforts fail while others succeed and how Catholic principles such as subsidiarity and solidarity guide Cross Catholic Outreach’s work. Sagarino also discusses her visits to the Vatican, her meetings with Pope Leo XIV and senior Church officials, and Cross Catholic Outreach’s unique relationship with the Holy See. The conversation explores the theological relationship between trust and charity, the role of personal generosity in an age of institutional skepticism, and whether supporting international aid organizations is compatible with Christ’s command to love one’s neighbor. Guest bio: Michele Sagarino is President of Cross Catholic Outreach, a Catholic relief and development organization serving vulnerable communities in more than 30 countries. She has spent over twenty years working with Catholic missionaries, dioceses, and local Church leaders to support programs focused on clean water, housing, education, healthcare, disaster relief, and integral human development.

What the Dalai Lama Told a Catholic Priest About Christ

CREDIT: Opening three images animated with AI with permission from the artist. Copyright Nicola Magrin. Courtesy Nuages, Milano. Father Francis Tiso is a Catholic priest, scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, and former advisor on Buddhist-Christian dialogue for both the Vatican and the U.S. bishops. For decades, he has explored the intersection of Christian mysticism, Buddhist meditation, neuroscience, and religious consciousness through extensive study, interreligious dialogue, and firsthand experience in monasteries and retreat centers across Asia. In this conversation, he discusses why Buddhism has become so attractive to many modern Westerners, what the Dalai Lama told him about Christian meditation, and how Buddhist practices of recollection and mindfulness compare to Catholic contemplative traditions. The discussion explores the modern loss of religious consciousness, the secular assumptions shaping contemporary culture, and the challenges Christians face in recovering deeper forms of prayer and spiritual discipline.Father Tiso also reflects on his years studying Tibetan Buddhism, his meetings with the Dalai Lama, the risks and possibilities of interreligious dialogue, and the controversial phenomenon known as the “rainbow body,” which he connects to broader questions surrounding mysticism, resurrection, and the nature of human consciousness. Guest bio: Father Francis Tiso is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro, scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, and former associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He studied at Columbia University, where he earned a doctorate in Buddhist studies specializing in Tibetan religion and the biographies of Milarepa. He has advised the Vatican on Buddhist-Christian dialogue, met privately with the Dalai Lama, and authored several books including "Rainbow Body and Resurrection."

Expert Panel Reacts to Pope Leo's AI Warning

Four experts on AI and Catholic teaching join Robert Duncan to discuss Pope Leo’s first encyclical on artificial intelligence and what they believe is its deeper message about the human person in a technological age. Drawing on theology, philosophy, media studies, and Catholic social teaching, they argue that the encyclical is not primarily about technology itself, but about safeguarding human dignity, relationships, attention, work, and spiritual freedom in the face of rapidly advancing AI systems.In this conversation, they explore why Pope Leo insists that human beings are more than machines, how artificial intelligence and social media can fragment identity and community, and why the Church views AI as a profoundly anthropological and spiritual challenge rather than merely a technical one. The discussion examines the future of work, the influence of algorithms on human behavior, transhumanism, digital culture, the meaning of face-to-face relationships, and the growing tension between technological progress and the cultivation of a fully human life. They also discuss their forthcoming book, "Catholic Cosmotechnics for the AI Age," and explain how Catholic liturgy, sacramental imagination, and the Augustinian tradition offer resources for understanding and responding to the AI revolution. Guest bios: Bo Bonner is Headmaster of Mother of Good Counsel School. A theologian, educator, and author, his work focuses on Catholic intellectual tradition, philosophy, education, technology, and human flourishing. Brett Robinson is the founder of the Church Communications Ecology Program at Notre Dame, a program for Church leaders to engage more deeply with the challenges and opportunities created by the rise of digital technology and artificial intelligence. Luigi Russi is an environmental educator, researcher, and scholar of media, ecology, and technology. His work explores how technological systems shape human experience and how religious traditions can provide frameworks for critically engaging contemporary technological culture. Michael Murphy is Executive Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago. His work focuses on Catholic thought, culture, higher education, and the relationship between faith and contemporary society.

Inside Rome’s Exorcist Conference: Are Demons Using AI?

Sean Tobin is a clinical psychologist who works at the intersection of psychology, spiritual formation, and the Catholic Church’s ministry of exorcism, helping individuals navigate experiences that blur the boundaries between mental illness, trauma, and spiritual suffering. In this conversation, he discusses the modern resurgence of interest in exorcism, the relationship between demonic influence and psychological distress, and why he believes technology and artificial intelligence are reshaping the human person in spiritually consequential ways. The discussion explores how social media and algorithms intensify self-focus and isolation, the Church’s evolving approach to spiritual warfare and mental health, and why AI systems may increasingly function as mirrors of human desire, identity, and meaning. Guest bio: Sean Tobin is a clinical psychologist specializing in psychotherapy, trauma, spirituality, and exorcism ministry. A former member of religious life, he has worked alongside Catholic exorcists supporting individuals experiencing alleged demonic phenomena and lectures on the relationship between psychology, spiritual formation, and the Catholic understanding of evil. He is the author of Big God, Little Devil.